Mr Kerrigan's castle

In Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House, one of the sharpest and sweetest of Hollywood comedies, written when Norman Panama and Melvin Frank were in top form, Cary Grant constructed his fortress of domestic contentment in a climate of postwar American affluence and good cheer. He was a man of spirited initiative; he had his dream, and he knew what he was doing. I thought of him recently while brooding on the success of The Castle, the low-budget Australian comedy, directed by Rob Sitch, that has turned out to be one of the year's unexpected hits.